Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil (Printable)
A creamy soup featuring roasted garlic, tomatoes, fresh basil, and crisp croutons for rich Mediterranean flavor.
# What You'll Need:
→ Soup
01 - 8 ripe tomatoes, quartered (about 1.5 lbs)
02 - 1 large head garlic
03 - 1 large onion, chopped
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 3 cups vegetable broth
06 - 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
07 - 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
08 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 - 1/2 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk (optional)
→ Croutons
11 - 2 cups day-old bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
12 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
13 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs (optional)
14 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice the top off the head of garlic, drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, wrap in foil, and arrange on a baking tray alongside the quartered tomatoes. Drizzle tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
02 - Roast in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until tomatoes are tender and garlic is golden and caramelized.
03 - While the vegetables roast, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion for 5 to 7 minutes until translucent.
04 - Toss bread cubes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, dried Italian herbs, and salt. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until golden and crisp. Set aside.
05 - Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins. Add the roasted tomatoes with their juices and garlic to the pot with onions. Stir in vegetable broth and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
06 - Stir in fresh basil leaves and sugar if using. Remove from heat.
07 - Use an immersion blender to purée until smooth. For an extra silky texture, strain through a fine mesh sieve.
08 - Stir in heavy cream or coconut milk if desired. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste.
09 - Ladle soup into bowls and top with prepared croutons and extra fresh basil leaves.
# Tips from dashanddishes:
01 -
- Roasted garlic transforms into something you'll want to spread on toast, so the soup tastes less like a recipe and more like something you invented yourself.
- The croutons stay crispy even when submerged, which genuinely matters when you're eating lunch at your desk.
- It's one of those soups that tastes like it simmered for hours but actually comes together in just over an hour.
02 -
- If you blend hot soup and haven't let it cool first, it can explode from steam—use a kitchen towel over the lid as a shield and never fill the blender more than halfway.
- Roasted garlic loses its magic if you try to rush it; 35 minutes minimum or those cloves won't squeeze out like butter and your soup misses the whole point.
- Fresh basil added at the very end is the difference between a soup that tastes homemade and one that tastes like it came from a can.
03 -
- Day-old bread becomes better croutons than fresh bread because it's drier and crisps up instead of turning chewy in the middle.
- Don't skip the immersion blender unless you genuinely enjoy transferring hot soup—the difference in smoothness and your sanity is worth having one in the drawer.